Are foreign tourists being refused hotel accommodation? The response from the three departments is here!
Recently, foreign netizens from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and other countries left messages stating that hotels refused to check in on the grounds that they "do not have foreign qualifications" and "do not know how to enter information into the system." "This is especially true in small cities or when staying in express hotels. So", causing inconvenience.
After receiving the messages from netizens forwarded by the Chinese government website, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce, and the National Immigration Bureau carefully studied and handled the problems and responded: In response to the inconvenient accommodation for overseas personnel reported by netizens, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Immigration Bureau attach great importance to it and are actively working on it. Cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other industry authorities to study work measures, require the hotel industry not to refuse to receive overseas personnel on the grounds of lack of foreign-related qualifications, guide and supervise the hotel industry to further improve foreign-related reception service capabilities, and improve the service level of employees.
The above reply further stated that at present, the Ministry of Commerce has guided the China Hotel Association to issue the "Proposal on Facilitating Accommodation Services for Foreigners Coming to China" to provide publicity and guidance in terms of strengthening the study of laws and regulations, improving reception capabilities, strengthening talent training, etc., and promoting accommodation Enterprises have improved their foreign-related service levels to provide more convenience for foreigners coming to China. Coordinate the network operation platform to offer a series of courses such as hotel English, and provide free hotel English training for accommodation operators on the platform such as check-in and room reservation to help accommodation industry employees improve their foreign language skills and better provide services to foreigners. The Ministry of Public Security is arranging public security agencies across the country to further optimize the accommodation registration and management services for overseas personnel in the hotel industry, facilitate the accommodation registration of overseas personnel, and create a first-class business environment.
Article 39 of the "Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that "when foreigners stay in hotels within the territory of China, the hotel shall register their accommodation in accordance with the relevant regulations on public security management of the hotel industry, and report the foreigners' foreign affairs to the local public security organs." Article 6 of the "Hotel Industry Public Security Management Measures" stipulates that "hotels must register for accommodation. When registering, they must check the identity documents of passengers and truthfully register for accommodation according to the prescribed items." Submit the accommodation registration form to the local public security agency within 24 hours. "Therefore, Chinese and foreign personnel staying in hotels should register their accommodation in accordance with legal provisions and fulfill their legal obligations. The public security organs shall instruct the hotel industry in accordance with the law to submit accommodation registration information for Chinese and foreign personnel in accordance with regulations.
The China Hotel Association's "Association News | Proposal on Facilitating Accommodation Services for Foreigners Coming to China" mentions that hotel service personnel and managers should strengthen their study of relevant laws and regulations such as the "Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China" and strengthen their understanding of the laws and regulations. The front office reception and other related service personnel shall be trained on the laws and regulations related to the accommodation registration of foreigners, and shall not refuse to receive foreign guests without reason.
Public information shows that in September 1988, item 7 of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Rating Star Ratings of Tourist Hotels" once stipulated that tourism business licenses should be issued by the state's tourism administrative department, namely the Tourism Bureau. Licensing system. All newly built hotels must obtain a preliminary star rating and a tourism business license from the hotel star rating agency before they can conduct tourism business.
A reporter from China Business News learned from an interview that with the development of the hotel industry, more newly built hotels do not participate in star rating, and there are also many new fashion hotels that focus on the domestic tourist market. Coupled with the impact of the epidemic for three years, many hotels have The customer source structure is mainly domestic tourists, so many hotels have not obtained tourism business licenses.
"In fact, the regulations on receiving foreign guests have been gradually relaxed, but it still depends on each region, because the registration of hotel guests needs to be reported online. How the relevant departments in the area where each hotel is located will specify and implement the regulations is There are differences. For example, some areas have been basically liberalized, and most hotels can receive foreign guests as long as they register their identities. However, some areas still have control requirements for hotels to receive foreign guests, which makes it difficult for some hotels to accept foreign guests. Directly receiving foreign guests without obtaining a tourism business license," said Zhao Huanyan, a senior economist who has been engaged in and researched the cultural tourism industry for a long time.
Hotel companies such as Jinjiang, BTG Homeinns, and Huazhu told China Business News that regulations on reception of foreign guests have indeed been gradually relaxed, but it varies in different regions.
The official WeChat account of "Shanghai Chongming" shows that those who apply for foreign-related reception qualifications for specialty B&Bs can apply to the local police station. The Exit and Entry Office of the Chongming Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau will provide on-site training and review, and report it to the Exit and Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau for approval. After that, you will be qualified for foreign-related reception.
China Business News reporter learned that in the past few years, the customer source structure of domestic hotels was basically dominated by domestic tourists, with few overseas customers. However, since this year, the number of international customers has increased significantly. The relevant person in charge of Jinjiang Metropolo Classic Shanghai Bund New City Hotel on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street previously told China Business News that before the epidemic, about 60% of the hotel’s guests were international guests. After the epidemic, they were basically domestic guests. Since the beginning of this year, the number of guests has More than 30% of the guests are international tourists, and in a few months it has returned to about 50% of the pre-epidemic level of international tourists.
Under this situation, hotel companies such as Jinjiang, BTG Homeinns, and Huazhu hope to fully implement the opening of the reception of foreign guests so that all hotels can receive foreign guests, which will also greatly increase inbound tourism consumption.
Statistics from the National Immigration Administration show that in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreigners coming to China more than tripled compared with the same period in 2023. Big data monitoring of passenger flow from the data center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows that the total number of inbound and outbound tourists during this year's May Day holiday reached 3.672 million, including 1.775 million inbound tourists and 1.897 million outbound tourists.
